diff --git a/packages/cli/src/config/config.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/config/config.test.ts
index ae9369d61b..3f8aff414b 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/config/config.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/config/config.test.ts
@@ -1485,7 +1485,7 @@ describe('loadCliConfig model selection', () => {
       argv,
     );
 
-    expect(config.getModel()).toBe('gemini-2.5-pro');
+    expect(config.getModel()).toBe(DEFAULT_GEMINI_MODEL_AUTO);
   });
 
   it('always prefers model from argvs', async () => {
@@ -1803,7 +1803,7 @@ describe('loadCliConfig useRipgrep', () => {
       const argv = await parseArguments({} as Settings);
       const settings: Settings = {};
       const config = await loadCliConfig(settings, [], 'test-session', argv);
-      expect(config.getUseModelRouter()).toBe(false);
+      expect(config.getUseModelRouter()).toBe(true);
     });
 
     it('should be true when useModelRouter is set to true in settings', async () => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/config/config.ts b/packages/cli/src/config/config.ts
index 6b11abd427..c74a503c34 100755
--- a/packages/cli/src/config/config.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/config/config.ts
@@ -587,7 +587,7 @@ export async function loadCliConfig(
     );
   }
 
-  const useModelRouter = settings.experimental?.useModelRouter ?? false;
+  const useModelRouter = settings.experimental?.useModelRouter ?? true;
   const defaultModel = useModelRouter
     ? DEFAULT_GEMINI_MODEL_AUTO
     : DEFAULT_GEMINI_MODEL;
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.test.ts b/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.test.ts
index 4088151049..67757637ec 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.test.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.test.ts
@@ -328,7 +328,7 @@ describe('SettingsSchema', () => {
       ).toBe('Experimental');
       expect(
         getSettingsSchema().experimental.properties.useModelRouter.default,
-      ).toBe(false);
+      ).toBe(true);
     });
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts b/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts
index b27f7465f2..64ce27d368 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts
@@ -986,10 +986,10 @@ const SETTINGS_SCHEMA = {
         label: 'Use Model Router',
         category: 'Experimental',
         requiresRestart: true,
-        default: false,
+        default: true,
         description:
           'Enable model routing to route requests to the best model based on complexity.',
-        showInDialog: false,
+        showInDialog: true,
       },
     },
   },
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/ui/components/SettingsDialog.test.tsx b/packages/cli/src/ui/components/SettingsDialog.test.tsx
index e9d53b9f58..1c6d1c1de2 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/ui/components/SettingsDialog.test.tsx
+++ b/packages/cli/src/ui/components/SettingsDialog.test.tsx
@@ -342,7 +342,7 @@ describe('SettingsDialog', () => {
 
       await wait();
 
-      expect(lastFrame()).toContain('● Folder Trust');
+      expect(lastFrame()).toContain('● Use Model Router');
 
       unmount();
     });